How Fitness Theories Have Evolved

Every day, new information is published regarding ways to improve your power, speed, agility, and body composition. Inherently, new training theories come with this new research; some are effective and others aren’t. In many cases, it isn’t the whole method that changes, but rather the theories behind the method. Here are a few theories that have undergone some modifications in the past few years.

Old: You must do at least 20 minutes of cardio to get into the fat-burning zone.

New: High intensity interval training (HIIT) sessions take 20 minutes or less and ramp up your metabolism more than any other form of cardio.

The reasoning behind this change is that the more you “damage” your tissues during training, the more energy you will need to expend to repair them — much more than if you worked at a moderate pace. This means that with HIIT cardio, you can significantly raise your metabolism for hours afterward, which more than makes up for what you would have burned if you‘d worked out moderately past the “20-minute” fat-burning zone.

Amount of weight and reps in weight training

Old: Performing a high number of repetitions with light weights is the best way to tone your body.

New: You will get better results by performing fewer repetitions with heavier weights.

There is no such thing as ”toning.” To get definition, you must lose body fat, which is related to diet and cardio more than anything else. By lifting heavy weights, you will keep your metabolism higher, as the heavy weights will stimulate the release of higher levels of testosterone and keep the muscle stimulus load high. By lifting maximally, you will also reduce your chances of losing muscle mass, which is fairly common among people who eat a hypocaloric diet (necessary for weight loss).

Eating habits to add muscle mass

Old: The best way to put on muscle is to eat as much as you can, anytime you can.

New: You should only eat a few hundred calories more than the amount you require to maintain your current weight.

While the old practice helps to add muscle mass, it also adds a significant amount of body fat. No one likes the process of removing body fat, so it is preferable to just keep your weight gain under control from the beginning. Granted, you may not put on muscle mass as quickly as you would with a “gorge-fest” diet, but the weight you do put on will be lean muscle. The best process now is thought to consist in only eating a few hundred calories more than your weight-maintenance caloric requirements.